Patriots Veteran Levies Hefty Comparison On Drake Maye

The Patriots have something special in Drake Maye.

We know it. You know it. Patriots tight end Hunter Henry knows it, going as far as to compare the rookie quarterback to Los Angeles Chargers star Justin Herbert on Wednesday.

“There’s a lot of similarities in a lot of ways,” Henry said when asked about Maye and Herbert, per Mark Daniels of MassLive. “They’re different but similar in a way, too. Justin’s a special player, but Drake is a very special player, too. The size always helps. Drake’s a big guy and Justin is obviously a very big guy. The mobility always helps — being able to create plays on the run. Not just with passing but also with his feet. Yeah, there’s definitely similarities. I’ve been blessed with Justin and now with Drake.”

Henry, of course, spent the entirety of Herbert’s rookie season in Los Angeles — becoming the gunslinger’s second-leading receiver throughout the campaign before jettisoning off to New England. The Patriots saw him do the same thing for Mac Jones, and after that ended in disaster, he’s done it once again with Maye.

“He always talks about Herbert. I remember his first start; I think Hunter said he was real nervous coming out there in the huddle and maybe threw his first one in the stands, kind of like I did in my first one against the Texans,” Maye said Wednesday, per team-provided transcript. “Other than that, I think just his arm talent. He’s a great player in this league, but I think Hunter is just a classic example of me trying to soak up information and try to feed one of our best players the football.”

Maye looks much closer to Herbert — both physically and in a football sense — to Herbert than Jones, which is tremendous news for New England.